This is somewhat on topic, please bear with me... Over the last several years I have planted a large native garden in my yard. Birds and butterflies love it, but the time has come for me to start thinning out some areas where some of the more aggressive plants are spreading a bit too much. I don't have enough sunny areas to keep transplanting around the yard.
Rather than just dig them up, I'm hoping that some other birders might be interested in transplants. These plants were all purchased from native plant nurseries (Prairie Nursery, Outback Nursery, Prairie Restorations.) You can have the transplants for free! I'd really love to have these plants propagated instead of going to waste. Here's what I have: Cupplant - if you're not familiar with it, it's a very cool native prairie plant whose leaves form cups to retain water. Birds drink from these cups and goldfinches love the seeds from the large yellow flowers that bloom in the summer. Be aware that this is a very tall, deep-rooted woody plant and will spread. But it can make for a nice privacy screen with your neighbors. :) Cupplant is best planted in full sun in a large open area. Of course when I planted this one plant as a tiny seedling several years ago, I had no idea and put it right next to my house. The thing is huge now and has dropped little cupplants everywhere. here's a photo: http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/126406744. Here's a photo of the water in one of the "cups": http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/125149662 Swamp milkweed - butterflies love it, not nearly as large as the cupplant but it will spread. http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/126406746 Butterfly weed - nice orange color, another milkweed. Attract butterflies! I've seen many monarch caterpillars on it. http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/126406741 Wild bergamot (monarda) - favored by hummingbirds. It's a lavender color. Will spread. In this photo, it's mixed in with some coneflower. http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/142726160 Little bluestem - short height prairie grass. I wouldn't say it's overly aggressive, but I just don't have enough sunny areas for those that have spread. If you're interested in any of this, please contact me off list and we can set something up. -- Liz Stanley Bloomington, MN [email protected] Backyard weather and feedercam: http://www.overlookcircle.org/ Photo gallery: http://www.pbase.com/gymell/liz_favorites Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lizmstanley ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
